sonicdc

My fiance (UK citizen) and I (US citizen) have set a date for about three months from now, we've got a timeline for filing paperwork sorted, and we've booked a honeymoon that we'll leave for the day after our wedding.

We're going to St. Thomas via Puerto Rico, therefore never leaving US territory and bypassing the whole reentry dilemma. (It just wasn't worth it to us to wait for advance parole and all that so that we could travel to Mexico or somewhere cheaper than the USVIs - we're Christians and don't live together, sleep together, etc., so the honeymoon is a HUGE deal for us )

My question is: What paperwork does he need to have in order to travel from the mainland US to Puerto Rico to St. Thomas (USVI) and back again (via the same route)? We obviously know not to venture over to the British Virgin Islands or any of that, I'm just asking because I can't find any information about passing from one US territory to another as a non-permanent resident currently residing in the US.

He's currently here on an F-1 student visa, so I'm thinking his passport, I-20, etc. (just as though he was reentering from somewhere other than a US territory). He has a US drivers license which is all that I'll need to reenter the mainland US, but my understanding is that a drivers license (in this case, TX) is not enough for non- US citizens to pass through customs. Am I wrong in this understanding? I just really don't want to get stuck somewhere in customs if all I would've needed to do to prevent it was bring a copy of his UK drivers license or something equally random!

If anyone has done anything similar to this recently, or has any idea what sort of paperwork we'll need to take, please let me know! Thanks in advance!

Noorah101

I don't know the exact answer, but just wanted you to be aware that if he's going to have his visa checked on his way back into the USA, it does not bode well for him to have a USC wife. He's not supposed to have immigrant intent on an F-1 visa. Not sure how strictly they look into that at the border (I know they do when they issue the visa), but something to watch out for.

That said, if he's not leaving the USA, why does he get checked for anything more than his US ID anyway?

Rene

ian-mstm

If you're going from the mainland to PR and then to the USVI, then you never actually leave US territory. They're domestic flights. Why do you think there will be any US immigration or customs to pass through?

Ian

BritishGuy36

What US ID would he have?

Noorah101

According to her post, he has a US drivers license:

He's currently here on an F-1 student visa, so I'm thinking his passport, I-20, etc. (just as though he was reentering from somewhere other than a US territory). He has a US drivers license which is all that I'll need to reenter the mainland US, but my understanding is that a drivers license (in this case, TX) is not enough for non- US citizens to pass through customs. Am I wrong in this understanding? I just really don't want to get stuck somewhere in customs if all I would've needed to do to prevent it was bring a copy of his UK drivers license or something equally random!

Rene

BritishGuy36

Ahhh....missed that.

It does seem like that's all the ID that would be required, then.

sonicdc

I just didn't want to go into it thinking that there would be NO hoops to jump through (not after getting familiar with the entire immigration process)! I know that there are limits on the amount of duty free goods you can bring back to the mainland US, so I assumed that there would be some sort of a customs process in order to police this issue at the very least. I guess it's something of a unique situation, I was just curious as to whether or not anyone had any information regarding this situation specifically.

If anyone hears anything about this, please let me know! Thanks y'all, I appreciate your input.

ian-mstm

That'd be true... if you were actually travelling outside the US.

Ian

sonicdc

UPDATE:

We did travel to St. Thomas for our honeymoon, stayed within the USVI throughout our trip and had a wonderful time. I would recommend it to anyone, BEAUTIFUL place. Here is how our entering and exiting the islands went down:

There are no customs or immigration to pass through upon entering the USVI. HOWEVER, after going through security at departure but before you get to the gates (I guess because all flights enter San Juan or the mainland US) you must go through US Customs and Immigration.

Honestly, I don't know what implications this has for anyone that was not in a similar situation to ours. Our flights went from a mainland state to FL to St. Thomas, and returned St. Thomas to San Juan to our home state. He simply showed a US drivers license at the customs/immigration desk and was never asked to declare his citizenship or anything else like that (but we did have his passport, I-20, current I-94, and student visa with us just in case).

Essentially, gave him our drivers licenses and told him we bought $50 in alcohol. Then we went home! I would venture to guess that most of that process is for customs (and not immigration) because everything in the USVI is tax free. However, the signs on the walls about passports and immigration status and everything else up to the way you walk up to the desks were exactly like any other airport US Customs and Immigration I've ever been though before (except for the thoroughness of the checks at the desks and the fact that you went through before you could leave instead of upon arrival).

Just wanted to put this out there in case any of you were thinking about traveling to the USVI on your honeymoon- there's more to it than there would be if you went to a US state! If he'd been out of status or anything like that, I think I would have been panicking when walking up to that desk! Made me nervous even though I knew we'd done everything legally! Hope this helps you in your honeymooning decisions!

ian-mstm

As I was the last to respond before you left, let me be the first to respond now that you're back! Congratulations! I'm glad everything worked out well for you. I've never been to the USVI, but you make it sound so wonderful, my wife and I will have a look at going! Thanks for a terrific write up.

Ian

discoviking

Hopefully I am wrong, but this part bothers me. While no verbal declarations concerning citizenship were made, I have to wonder what presenting a US drivers license and nothing else implied to the border guard, and what entries if any were made in their systems. At any rate, what's done is done - and I hope it will not come back to bite you later.